Identification: Clearly identify yourself and your organization. You must include your mailing address. You must also include a phone number for accessing an agent or a voice messaging system, an email address, or a web address for you or the person on whose behalf you are sending the message.

Truth in advertising: Your messages must not be false or misleading. They must not have false or misleading sender information, subject matter information, URLs and/or metadata.

To install a program on someone else's computer or mobile device, you must have his/her express consent. Learn more about how to obtain consent in this case.

CASL allows Canadian enforcement against spammers operating in Canada.

Note: This website provides plain language information about the law but is not a substitute for the law itself. You are strongly advised to review our information bulletins and seek your own legal advice regarding how to comply.

Fact: It is not illegal to send commercial electronic messages, but you need consent.
CASL applies to emails, text and instant messages, and any similar messages sent to electronic addresses.
CASL does not apply to promotional information you post online in places like blogs or social media.

Fact: Businesses that already comply with privacy laws and use common best practices for email marketing will require little effort to comply with CASL.
The 36-month transitional provision provides time to adjust and seek express consent from pre-existing clients.

Better safe than sorry—Violating CASL has a price

Legitimate complaints about unsolicited emails may be turned over to the CRTC, which may investigate to determine if the message violates CASL.

If you are judged to be in violation, the CRTC has a range of enforcement tools available.

There are no automatic penalties for violations. The CRTC judges each case based on a series of factors, including the nature of the violation, your history with CASL, whether you benefited financially from the violation and your ability to pay a penalty.

Penalties for the most serious violations of the Act can go as high as $1 million for individuals and $10 million for businesses. Civil cases cannot be brought before the courts until July 2017.